A member of the OSCE Mediterranean Partners, Tunisia’s partnership with the OSCE dates back the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, which recognized the close relationship between European security and Mediterranean security. In 1994, a contact group was formed to formally involve the southern Mediterranean countries with the OSCE.
Since beginning its transition to democracy following the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011, Tunisia has made use of the resources available to it as an OSCE Mediterranean Partner to strengthen its fledgling democratic institutions. In 2011, Tunisia invited more than seventy OSCE observers to its first democratic elections, who concluded that the elections had provided genuine choice for the voters. In 2012, Tunisia requested that ODHIR carry out projects supporting democratic structures in the area, and ODIHR supported Tunisia in undertaking key electoral and legislative reforms, consolidating democratic institutions, and increasing the participation of women in public life. Since 2012, ODIHR has served as a consultant for Tunisia’s Ministries of Justice, Interior, Human Rights, Transitional Justice, the Election Management Body and the National Constituent Assembly. The OSCE’s Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights has also reviewed many pieces of Tunisian legislation.
Staff Contact: Bakhti Nishanov, senior policy advisor